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Saturday, October 01, 2016

Washington Changes THAAD Deployment Site Plan

Message from South Korea:

In the morning of Sept. 30, the South Korea Ministry of National Defense
notified that the ROK and US authorities decided the Lotte Skyhill golf
club site for the deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area
Defense) missile defense system.

The golf club site in Seongju is just next to Gimcheon and
huge protests above all by the citizens of Seongju and Gimcheon and
followers of Won Buddhism are expected. The Won Buddhism has its sacred
places close to the site.

The deployment of
the THAAD in Korea is surely a hell gate which threatens peace in the
Asia Pacific and World.

Is it just coincident that tomorrow, Oct. 1
remembers the 73rd year of the ROK-US mutual defense treaty as well as
the 70th National holiday for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces?

As
soon as the Ministry of National defense made a notice on it, it set up
the wire-fence in front of its building area as if it is afraid of
people's coming protests.

THAAD should be withdrawn. Dangerous
ROK-US-Japan war alliance should be stopped. Missile Defense (equals offense)
should be stopped.

Keep Space for Peace Week Begins Today

Friday, September 30, 2016

Ask the Native Americans: Washington always Breaks its Promises

Political commentator Marwa Osman talks to RT International on the latest developments in the Syrian crisis.

The thing that drives me most crazy is the phony outrage by the western media about the poor innocent civilians being killed in Syria. Come on.....

Since when does the US-NATO give a damn about innocent civilians being killed - how about 'shock and awe' in Iraq? How about Washington's longest war in US history in Afghanistan? How about the carnage to civilians in Yemen by Saudi Arabia with total US support? Did the western media ever demand apologies from Washington for killing legions of innocent people? Never!

The US and its allies (Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, UK) are funding, arming, and directing ISIS in Syria and those terrorists are responsible for thousands of innocent deaths and hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing from Syria.

In fact the western media daily covers up their war crimes in Syria.

I have to come back to the wider US goal at work here - take down Syria as a step toward isolating and forcing regime change in Iran.

Whereas the US policy is "all over the board," with a visible divide between the Department of Defense and the CIA. The CIA supports radical Islamists and the Department of Defense tries to kill them," he said.

"So it is just absurd that we are on the one hand talking about the tough game of fighting terrorism and yet behind the scenes providing financing and weapons to the same very terrorists," he told Sputnik.

The former CIA officer also explained US' focus on Syria, and why it remains in the spotlight. "It is [all about] Iran, Iran is the critical factor determining the policy in the region. Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to a lesser extent, and Qatar and the Persian Gulf are very worried about the ascendance of Iran in the region, both politically and militarily. And that has been facilitated by the US invasion of Iraq in 2003," he said.

Once Saddam Hussein was taken out of power, Johnson explained, the majority Shia population took control of the country. They have always had very close ties with Iran because many of the leaders of Iraq were sheltered in Iran during the previous years when Saddam Hussein was in power.

"What has been literally driving the US policy, this effort to try to contain Iran and to accommodate traditional US allies in the region without staying true to its policy of combating terrorism."

The US continues to play this hypocritical power game in Syria and uses the western media to hide the truth from the public. The media utilizes a strategy, similar to the one used by US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, to counter attack and divert attention by calling Russian and Syrian attempts to actually fight terrorists "barbarism".

Washington wants to talk about barbarism!? All it has to do is look in the mirror!

Fort Meade, Maryland (Oct 8) The Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore will go to the National Security Agency to protest illegal surveillance and its involvement in drone strikes at 11 AM. We will be promoting a pardon for Edward Snowden. Rides will be available. Contact Max at 410-323-1607 or mobuszewski at Verizon dot net

Gimcheon, South Korea (Oct 1-8) Nightly candlelight vigil against US deployment of THAAD ‘missile defense’ system near their community.

Kiruna, Sweden (Oct 8) Women for Peace will organize a manifestation in the centre of town against drones. evannakristin@gmail.com

Port Louis, Mauritius (Oct 1-2) LALIT 2nd Action Conference called “Diego Garcia: 50 Years’ Occupation & Banishment, 50 Year’s Struggle”. Topics include: The secret history of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia and its role as a key installation in the Air Force’s Satellite Control Network. Contact: raj8@intnet.mu

Fairbanks, Alaska (Oct 8) F-35 is a theft! Direct action at Eielson Air Force Base. The protest will focus on our local governments' addiction to militarism as a tool for economic development with a special focus on the plan to station two squadrons of F-35s here. Contact: 907-687-6606 or mulford.rob@gmail.com

King of Prussia, Pennsylvania (Oct 8) Brandywine Peace Community will hold an anti-war 'REACH-OUT' to our neighbors. Lockheed Martin, 230 Mall Boulevard (corner of Mall and Goddard Boulevards, behind the King of Prussia Mall) Noon – 2 pm. Lockheed Martin is the world's #1 war (including killer drones) and nuclear weapons profiteer. Nuclear weapons and use are still the central threat of U.S. global empire. Music by Tom Music. Come with a whole lotta noise and love for people and the planet in the face of the presidential election madhouse. For more information: call (610) 544-1818, www.brandywinepeace.com/events.

Kirtland AFB, New Mexico (Oct 1) Protest at Gibson @ Truman Street SE from 10 am to Noon. Kirtland does Research & development on directed energy beam weapons, lasers, microwave, rail guns and others technologies in the war to defend freedom and liberty for American corporations. They want to put big killer lasers on aircraft soon. In addition KAFB operates a special satellite control system for global war that also enables drone attacks around the world on a moment’s notice. Kirtland houses one of the largest offensive cyber warfare centers that hacks into other nation’s computer systems. Sponsored by Stop War Machine and others. citizen@comcast.net

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota (Oct. 5) At the weekly peace vigil on a bridge spanning the Mississippi River between Minneapolis/St. Paul, Women Against Military Madness will hold signs about stopping the provoking of Russia and China. From 5:00-6:00 p.m. during rush hour traffic. On Oct. 8 a coalition of peace groups in the Twin Cities will rally with a focus on Afghanistan because it is the 15th anniversary of the U.S. war on that country; there is sure to be an anti-drone presence. beaudmj@gmail.com

Nagpur, India (Oct 6) An awareness program "Know the danger of Weaponisation of Space" at National College of Social Work jnrao193636@gmail.com

Nagpur, India (Oct 7) Demonstration to protest against the Weaponisation of Space by the US. Held at Matrusewa Sangh Institute of Social Work. jnrao193636@gmail.com

Nagpur, India (Oct 8) A joint demonstration by Progressive Railway Women's Organisation, S.E.C. Railway Pensioners organisation and Global Network to warn the government of India not to fall into trap of US to join the weaponisation of program. jnrao193636@gmail.com

New Haven, Connecticut (Sept 30) Community vigil and leafletting in front of New Haven City Hall; 12 noon, organized by the Greater New Haven Peace Council amistadmarder@gmail.com

Newport, Rhode Island (Oct 5) Vigil at Gate One of the Naval War College in Newport, RI. on from noon – 1:00 pm. Strict non-violence expected. Holding you all in the Light.

Novara, Italy (Oct 2) Protest near the Cameri Air Base where F-35 planes are provided operating support throughout Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Protest organized by No MUOS and No F-35. sadhusan@virgilio.it

Sunnyvale, California (Sept 26) Vigil at Lockheed-Martin (Fifth Street & L-M Way) at noon. Lockheed profits from war. Its web site lists over 400 products designed to meet the needs of today's “warfighter.” These range from Hellfire, PAC­3 and Javelin missiles the F16, 22, 35 and 117 fighters, military satellites, integrated defense systems, and dispensers for cluster bombs. Sponsored by Pacific Life Community. ehmke@stanford.edu

Syracuse, New York (Oct 4) Special "Keep Space for Peace Week" Street Heat outside Hancock Air National Guard Base (a training center for drone operators and a site for piloting drones over Afghanistan). Street Heat is a small demonstration we have Tuesdays from 4:15-5pm at locations throughout the Syracuse area. Also we'll put out the poster and info via our 1800+ person listserv and social media. Sponsored by the Syracuse Peace Council. carol@peacecouncil.net

Vadso, Norway (Oct 10-11) National conference called ‘Military Intelligence as a democratic blind zone’. Event will discuss NSA-cooperation with Norway 1952-2016. In Vadsø is a huge US space Communications-Intelligence station near the Russian border. Event held at Scandic Vadso Hotel. For more information contact torill@formidlingskraft.no

Vandenberg AFB, California (Oct 5) Keep Space for Peace vigil at space warfare base at the Main Gate from 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm. For info contact me at jdapel@yahoo.com or at (805) 249-3796.

Volk Field, Camp Douglas, Wisconsin (Sept 27) Vigil Against Drones 3:30-4:30, Gates of Volk Field, an Air National Guard Base where they train personnel to operate the Shadow Drone. The monthly vigil at Volk Field is a legal vigil where we will be on public property. It will be a solemn vigil, remembering the victims of US drone attacks. For information joyfirst5@gmail.com or blbb24@att.ne

Pentagon, Washington DC (Sept 26) 9:00 a.m. Nonviolent Action at Pentagon. Our gathering will begin outside The Pentagon near the top of the Metro subway escalators (the Pentagon stop) next to the bus bay. Bring your signs and banners and join our spirited nonviolent witness against war! We will also be delivering to the Pentagon a petition to close Ramstein Air Base in Germany, as U.S. whistleblowers and Germans together deliver it to the German government in Berlin. http://worldbeyondwar.org/

Another Great Space Warfare Film

Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space was created and directed by French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Delestrac and released in 2010. The award-winning film played on public TV stations throughout Europe and Canada and was seen in movie theaters across Latin America.

This professionally produced film was in part inspired by the Global Network's own video Arsenal of Hypocrisy. Pax Americana though gets into places that we could never had dreamed to have gone and introduces many new elements to the space weaponization issue.

We were grateful that Denis Delestrac included three leaders from the Global Network in his excellent film. We know you will learn much from this documentary.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

The Hollywood Drama Continues

If the British Empire was built on the playing fields of Eton, United States world hegemony gets its training in Hollywood studios and advertising agencies. Selling your product, or yourself, by looking sincere is a cultivated American art. Current top U.S. leaders are expert practitioners.

In the space of a few days, Samantha Power, John Kerry, and Barack Obama all turned in war-winning performances.

Three Deadly U.S. Blows to Hopes of Peace In Syria

Last August 8, on that serious think tank the Charlie Rose show, former acting CIA director Michael Morell said that U.S. policy in Syria should be to make Iran and Russia “pay a price”. Russians and Iranians should be killed “covertly, so you don’t tell the world about it”, he said. Morell proposed that U.S. forces begin bombing Syrian government installations, in order to “scare Assad”. Probably angling for a good job next year, he is on record supporting Hillary Clinton as a “highly qualified commander in chief” and a “strong proponent of a more aggressive approach” in Syria.

Act I – An Act of War

Then, on Saturday, September 17, the U.S. Air Force did exactly what that CIA insider had called for. In sustained air strikes, four U.S. jets bombed a key Syrian Army position that had been defending the town of Deir ez-Zor from ISIS/Daech fighters. More than sixty Syrian soldiers were killed and over a hundred wounded. Daech forces immediately took advantage of the strikes to overrun the government position. In effect, the U.S. Air Force acted as air cover for the Islamic fanatics to advance against the legitimate army of Syria.

This was not only a violation of the cease-fire painstakingly worked out by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. It was an open military aggression by the United States on the territory of a sovereign state.

The Russians immediately called an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to respond to this deadly violation of the truce supposedly intended to facilitate peace negotiations and humanitarian aid. When Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin took the floor to speak, his American counterpart, Samantha Power, draped in her long red mane, walked out to give a press conference that clearly illustrated the difference between Russian and U.S. diplomacy.

Churkin, like Lavrov a few days later, cited facts and analysed the situation rationally. Samantha Power put on a show of evasion and insults.

Why all the fuss? was her opening theme. After all, we halted the attack when we were informed that “it was possible we might be hitting Syrian regime personnel and vehicles”, she stated, adding that “if” we did so, “that was not our intention”. That should settle the question; who could believe that the United States might deliberately attack the regime their politicians have been saying “must go”?

The best defense is offensive, and Power can be most offensive:

“Even by Russia’s standards, tonight’s stunt – replete with moralism and grandstanding is uniquely cynical and hypocritical”, she declared.

Samantha Power, that conniving arriviste whose carefully constructed career has been built on moralism, grandstanding, cynicism and hypocrisy, had all the nerve in the world to turn these epithets against the prime target of her own habitual moralism, grandstanding, cynicism and hypocrisy.

If the air strikes hadn’t been enough to destroy Russian confidence in dealing with the United States, Samantha Power’s contemptuous reaction was sure to do the trick.

Act II – Change the Subject

Next ploy: change the subject. Our little accidental bombing is nothing, Power implied, compared to the alleged fact that “since 2011 the Assad regime has intentionally been striking civilian targets with horrifying, predictable regularity”. Here is the core of the Samantha Power fraud, containing two elements:

1/ While good-hearted bumbling America occasionally kills a few people by accident, the others do it all the time and above all intentionally.

2/ Killing civilians is what war is all about. War is not about battles between armed forces for control of territory. It is not about geopolitical power struggles. It is about “civilian victims”.

At the close of her stunt, grandstanding and scoring cheap points, Samantha Power exhorted Russia “to stop the cheap point scoring and the grandstanding and the stunts and focus on what matters, which is implementation of something we negotiated in good faith with them.” Good faith? They are supposed to believe we negotiated “in good faith” an agreement which we just flagrantly destroyed?

Lo and behold, only two days after the U.S. bombing of Deie ez-Zor, the subject was definitively changed when an international humanitarian aid convoy was attacked on its way to Aleppo. Twenty aid workers were killed and the aid mission was halted. Without waiting for any evidence, the unanimous cry went up from Washington that “the Russians did it!”

In the U.N. Security Council this time, John Kerry took the stage. Again, the critical point was the contrast between what we certainly did and what they allegedly did. Yes, we committed “a terrible accident”. But what they (allegedly) did was worse.

“I got to tell you, people running around with guns on the ground, from the air, is a very different thing from trucks in a convoy with big UN markings all over them,” Kerry declared. He was implying that the difference was between an understandable accident, whose victims were “running around with guns”, and an attack on civilians. Yes, but in war, attacking soldiers is the whole point. It can make a difference in the outcome. Hitting an aid convoy is “collateral damage”, as the U.S. calls it when the bombs are American. By bombing Deir ez-Zor, the United States was taking part in a war in which Syria is fighting for its life.

It cannot be ruled out that Syrian forces attacked the aid convoy because the truce was already broken at Deir ez-Zor and they believed it concealed weapons being transported to Daech. Such things happen. Or the attack could have been carried out by rebels as an act of propaganda, a “false flag”, designed precisely to be used to accuse the adversary. Such things also happen.

It has already been established by careful research that the notorious Al Ghouta chemical weapons attack, attributed to Assad, was almost certainly carried out by rebels precisely in order to incite the United States to cross the “red line” set by President Obama and bomb Damascus. The War Party which by now controls the Pentagon, much of the State Department, most of Congress, as well as leading media and think tanks, has been castigating Obama ever since for not having seized that opportunity to wage a full-scale “regime change” war against Syria. The critics have never forgiven Obama for accepting the Russian proposal to use the occasion to rid Syria of its chemical arsenal, instead of overthrowing the Syrian government.

But in recent weeks, as the Hillary Clinton campaign grows more frantic, Obama himself has joined the War Party.

Act III – Wallow in Sentimentality

On September 20, President Obama used a Leaders Summit on Refugees to portray the Syrian episode in what increasing appears to be World War III as a sentimental children’s story. Obama read the letter from 6-year-old Alex, who lives in Scarsdale, New York, expressing his wish to adopt Omran Daqneesh, the bewildered 5-year-old boy with a mop of dusty hair whose photo sitting in an orange ambulance seat was iconized across the world. The letter, provided to mass media by the White House, with its childish writing but nearly perfect spelling, was full of touching details about butterfly collections and shared toys. Obama read the letter, as people reached for Kleenexes all over the country, and then commented:

“Those are the words of a six-year-old boy – a young child who has not learned to be cynical, or suspicious, or fearful of other people because of where they come from, how they look, or how they pray. We should all be more like Alex. Imagine what the world would look like if we were.”

The little boys are very cute, very sweet. Fortunately, Omran Daneesh’s parents are alive, so there is no need to adopt him. Many other children are dead, notably in Yemen, killed by Washington’s ally Saudi Arabia with arms provided by the United States. Too late to adopt them.

“We should all be more like Alex”, Obama tells his good people. Imagine indeed, if all Americans were as innocent and naïve as six-year-old children. And indeed, that seems to be the goal of government propaganda.

This propagandistic heartstring tugging is aimed at distracting from U.S. involvement in a long-term joint criminal enterprise to overthrow a government that indeed did not discriminate against people because of “how they pray”, and replace it by fanatics who are ready to behead people because of “how they pray”.

An infantilized public will believe that “geopolitics” and “national sovereignty” are just big words that don’t mean anything. An infantilized public will believe that when the United States goes to war, it is all about protecting little children from their bad, mean dictators, whose only aspiration is to “bomb their own people”. They will believe that the world out there is Little Red Riding Hood, threatened by the Big Bad Wolf, and that there really is a Santa Claus.

It will never occur to an infantilized public that the war to destroy Syria has been planned for years – even though someone like General Wesley Clark revealed this years ago. Or that it is carried out to eliminate Israel’s enemies, keep Arabs busy killing each other, and incidentally help Saudi Arabia spread its Wahhabite fanaticism. No, that will never occur to them.

They won’t even notice that the Obama administration has now effectively given up any effort to justify the Nobel Peace Prize so foolishly bestowed on the apprentice president, and is now engaged in a scenario designed to prepare for Hillary’s next successful regime change war in Syria.

And it won’t occur to them that the photo of the little boy in the orange seat was quite deliberately iconized by Western media as part of the campaign promoting the Islamic rebel-connected “White Helmets” for the future Nobel Peace Prize.

Another subtle step in demonizing the “Assad regime” before Hillary takes over to administer the planned coup de grace. The future chuckler-in-chief is looking forward to seeing another head fall. This is called “smart power”.

~ Diana Johnstone is the author of Fools’ Crusade: Yugoslavia, NATO, and Western Delusions. Her new book is Queen of Chaos: the Misadventures of Hillary Clinton.

Kiriakou Recieves Award for 'Integrity in Intelligence'

The World Beyond War conference in Washington DC at American University concluded with an award ceremony to honor former CIA officer John Kiriakou for 'Integrity in Intelligence'. Kiriakou made public the government's water boarding torture program and went to prison. Eight former CIA/FBI and military intelligence professionals spoke during the award ceremony. Here are some of the words from this very moving event.

Larry Wilkerson (retired Army officer and chief of staff for Colin Powell at State Department): "It's clear that we unleashed hell in Iraq. One Arab put his finger in my chest and said, 'Go tell your former boss [Colin Powell who made the famous Iraq WMD speech at the United Nations on Feb 5, 2003] that every family in Jordan has an Iraqi refugee living in their home and now Syrian refugees are knocking on the door.'"

Larry Johnson (former CIA analyst): "John Kiriakou thought this was not a rigged system. He heard people say, Why can't you be a team player? If you do the right thing [inside the CIA] you'll get punished, if you do the wrong thing you'll get rewarded."

Philip Giradi (former CIA analyst): "You find out that you work for people who are killing people so they can build their careers. One day you wake up thinking we are the good guys but find out we are the bad guys."

Elizabeth Murray (former CIA analyst): "We are all public servants and have an obligation to tell the truth to the American people. You keep your mouth shut, don't step outside the line and you will have a good career."

John Kiriakou (former CIA officer): "I kept silent for 5 1/2 years but I watched these others up here [who had previously publicly spoken out]. I don't feel like I changed but I feel like the government has changed. This all started with that so-called Patriot Act. We Americans have a constitutional right to freedom of speech. It's none of the governments business what is in our communications. Anybody can be made to look like a suspect [from all the personal data collected by the NSA]. The government doesn't care what truth is. Daniel Ellsberg [Pentagon Papers whisleblower back in the early 1970's] once told me that every dirty trick the government tried against him is now legal under the Patriot Act. The Founding Fathers saw this coming and created the Bill of Rights. I have a constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech and will continue to use it!"

Our First Space for Peace Video is Still Relevant

The Global Network created this video intending to bring as much as we knew about the militarization of space to the public. The video became an independent film makers dream as people freely copied and shared the DVD's and many people around the world posted it on YouTube which brought the film to tens of thousands more.

The idea for the video came from Global Network member Peter Shaw from State College, PA. (and a Veterans For Peace stalwart) who suggested that we produce the video and then he offered a substantial donation to help make it happen.

I didn't know any filmmakers in our community of Gainesville, Florida but one day I went to our local video shop to get some copies made of some videos. I mentioned to the shopkeeper, Randy Atkins, that we were looking to make a documentary. He told me he'd liked to give it a try but had admittedly never done anything like this before. As it turned out people used to bring old film reels to his shop and ask if he wanted them. He saved them and that is the way we got some of the Nazi footage shown early in the video as well as many of the rocket launch clips.

I came up with the script, got dressed up a bit, and we went into Randy's dark and very hot garage where he filmed my part. By the end of the video I was wilting in the heart.

Randy and I then gathered all the photos and film we had and sat for weeks going frame by frame to insert the visuals that really made the whole thing work. Randy worked very hard on this - more than we could have ever paid him.

As I re-watch this I feel quite proud that we really nailed the coming reality of US 'full spectrum dominance'. Thirteen years later this video still stands up to be relevant and important watching.

The Global Network owes Peter Shaw and Randy Atkins many thanks for helping us deliver this important message across the planet.

At the Pentagon: Where Endless Wars are Planned

21 arrested yesterday morning at the Pentagon for trying to deliver a letter to US Secretary of War Ashton Carter. Another 60 people were gathered just yards away in the 'free speech' cage with signs and banners as the thousands of Pentagon personnel entered for work.

It was a good weekend at the World Beyond War conference in Washington DC. I spoke on Sunday morning (about Ukraine and Korea) and then on Monday joined the protest at the Pentagon though was not one of those who were arrested for trying to deliver a letter to the US Secretary of War. I stayed at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House (DDCW) as I usually do. I was up early on Monday and went with long-time Catholic Worker activist Cathy Boylan to the Pentagon, arriving at 7:00 am when the largest group of military and civilian personnel working there begin to arrive. Others from the conference came about 8:45 am and soon we had a nice crowd with a portable sound system and our signs and banners. The arrests of those trying to deliver the letter happened around 9:30 am. Was a great place to hold a protest. The folks from the DDCW protest at the Pentagon every Monday morning but usually there are just a couple of them. It was interesting to hear positive and friendly words from some of the military personnel as they walked past. It is clear that holding protests at military installations really helps make those working for the war machine re-think their own role in the US imperial project.

While at the protest yesterday one of the men told me about the 60 Minutes TV program that ran the night before and he said it was promoting nuclear war with Russia. I watched it online this morning (can't find a way to capture the video yet for the blog) but you can see it here. It is full of lies and distortions (oh, how far 60 Minutes has fallen over the years) and does the usual job of further demonizing Russia and Putin. The biggest lie is that Russia invaded Crimea to steal it from Ukraine. The truth is that Russia had an agreement with Ukraine to station more than twenty-thousand of its military there at its Black Sea navy base. So when the Nazis from western Ukraine attacked Crimean citizens (killing some of them) not long after the February 2014 US directed coup in Kiev all Russia did was put their 'little green men' around Crimea to keep the Nazis from doing further damage to the people. Not one person was killed during this period. This stabilized the situation and very quickly the people of Crimea (mostly ethnic Russian citizens by the way) held a referendum and voted by 94% in favor of asking to rejoin Russia. (Crimea was long a part of Russia but was given to Ukraine during the days of the Soviet Union as a gesture but was sort of meaningless because they were all one country then anyway.)

The 60 Minutes segment then makes an incredible leap into fantasy and 'speculates' that Russia will next invade Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia and nuke US-NATO forces. In response to these alleged Russian provocations the TV 'news' report then shows how the Pentagon is flying B-52 bombers along the Russian border armed with nuclear capable air-launched cruise missiles that are key elements in US first-strike attack planning. So the usual Washington modus operandi is at work here as the US encroaches on Russia and then when Russia reacts as any country would they are then demonized and that is used to justify further US-NATO militarization along the Russian border. This is how big war$ get started.